Information transmission device and operating method therefor

ABSTRACT

An information transmission method, which is a method in which an information transmission apparatus transmits information through a dial pad during a call in a terminal, includes: executing an application program storing all or part of the information and displaying an application interface including the all or part of the information; executing the dial pad in a state where the application interface is displayed, and simultaneously displaying the dial pad and the application interface; and transmitting the information to another party through the dial pad, based on content of the application interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 365 and is a371 National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2016/007432,filed Jul. 8, 2016, which claims priority to Chinese Patent ApplicationNo. 201510476846.7, filed on Aug. 6, 2015 and Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2016-0054098, filed on May 2, 2016, the disclosures of which arefully incorporated herein by reference into the present disclosure as iffully set forth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and apparatusfor transmitting information in a terminal.

BACKGROUND

Along with developments in electronic device technology, users are ableto execute increasingly more functions through electronic devices.However, as functions of electronic devices increase, users' newexpectations about electronic devices have also been increasing.

For example, a phone call function of mobile terminals is a mainfunction of mobile terminals. However, as users become accustomed totalking on the phone by using a mobile terminal, users have graduallyincreasingly demanded additional convenience in addition to the phonecall function. For example, demand for technology for convenientlytransmitting, when making a phone call, account information or numbersor letters stored in a terminal to the other party has arisen.

SUMMARY

The present embodiments provide an apparatus for convenientlytransmitting information during a call, and an operation method of theapparatus.

As a technical means of addressing the above technical problem,according to an embodiment, an information transmission method, which isa method of transmitting information through a dial pad during a call,includes: executing an application program storing all or part of theinformation and displaying an application interface including the all orpart of the information; executing the dial pad in a state where theapplication interface is displayed, and simultaneously displaying thedial pad and the application interface; and transmitting the informationto another party through the dial pad, based on content of theapplication interface.

The dial pad may be executed by receiving an input via a floating buttonindicating the dial pad.

At least one of the floating button indicating the dial pad and the dialpad may be transparently displayed.

The dial pad may be executed by receiving an input via a dial pad buttonadded to a notification bar.

The information transmission method may further include executing a callprocess.

The executing of the dial pad and the simultaneously displaying of thedial pad and the application interface may include displaying the dialpad and the application interface to at least partially overlap eachother.

When the application program storing the all or part of the informationincludes a plurality of application programs, a plurality of applicationinterfaces including the all or part of the information aresimultaneously displayed by executing the plurality of applicationprograms.

The information transmitted to the other party may be received as aninput value of an application program installed at the other party.

The information transmitted to the other party may be received by theother party through execution of a predetermined application program.

The information transmitted to the other party may be received in apredetermined short message service (SMS) form by the other party.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention,an information transmission apparatus, which is an apparatus fortransmitting information through a dial pad during a call, includes: adisplay; and a controller configured to: execute an application programstoring all or part of the information and display an applicationinterface including the all or part of the information; execute the dialpad in a state where the application interface is displayed, andsimultaneously display the dial pad and the application interface; andtransmit the information to another party through the dial pad, based oncontent of the application interface.

The dial pad may be executed by receiving an input via a floating buttonindicating the dial pad.

At least one of the floating button indicating the dial pad and the dialpad may be transparently displayed.

The dial pad may be executed by receiving an input via a dial pad buttonadded to a notification bar.

The controller may be further configured to execute a call process.

The controller may be further configured to control display of the dialpad and the application interface to at least partially overlap eachother.

When the application program storing the all or part of the informationincludes a plurality of application programs, a plurality of applicationinterfaces including the all or part of the information may besimultaneously displayed by executing the plurality of applicationprograms.

The information transmitted to the other party may be received as aninput value of an application program installed at the other party.

The information transmitted to the other party may be received by theother party through execution of a predetermined application program.

The information transmitted to the other party may be received in apredetermined short message service (SMS) form by the other party.

According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure,a computer-readable recording medium that stores computer program codesfor performing, when read by a processor and executed, a method oftransmitting information through a dial pad during a call includes:executing an application program storing all or part of the informationand displaying an application interface including the all or part of theinformation; executing the dial pad in a state where the applicationinterface is displayed, and simultaneously displaying the dial pad andthe application interface; and transmitting the information to anotherparty through the dial pad, based on content of the applicationinterface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for transmitting informationduring a call, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of transmitting information during acall, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of transmitting information during acall, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A shows a method of executing a dial pad during a call, accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B shows an example of a dial pad executed during a call, accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a method of executing a dial pad during a call, accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a method of executing a dial pad during a call, accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a method of executing a dial pad in a state where anapplication program is executed during a call, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a method of executing a dial pad in a state where anapplication interface is displayed during a call, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 shows an example of an executed dial pad according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows an example in which an application interface and a dialpad are simultaneously displayed during a call, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows an example in which an application interface and a dialpad are simultaneously displayed during a call, according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 shows an example in which an application interface and a dialpad are simultaneously displayed during a call, according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 shows a method of executing a dial pad during a call, accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 shows an example in which a plurality of application interfacesand a dial pad are simultaneously displayed, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As a technical means of addressing the above technical problem,according to an embodiment, an information transmission method, which isa method of transmitting information through a dial pad during a call,includes: executing an application program storing all or part of theinformation and displaying an application interface including the all orpart of the information; executing the dial pad in a state where theapplication interface is displayed, and simultaneously displaying thedial pad and the application interface; and transmitting the informationto another party through the dial pad, based on content of theapplication interface.

Hereinafter, various embodiments will be described in the presentspecification with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, thisis not intended to limit the art described in the present specificationto particular modes of practice, and various modifications, equivalentsand/or alternatives of one or more embodiments in the presentspecification may also be included in the content of the presentspecification. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote likeelements.

The terms used in the present specification are selected from amonggeneral terms that are currently widely used in consideration of theirfunctions in the present specification. However, the terms may bedifferent according to an intention of one of ordinary skill in the art,a precedent, or the advent of new technology. In addition, in particularcases, the terms are discretionally selected by the applicant, and themeaning of those terms will be described in detail in the correspondingpart of the detailed description. Therefore, the terms used in thepresent embodiments should be defined based on not simple designationsof the terms but the meaning of the terms and the context of the presentspecification.

The term “unit” used in the present specification means a softwarecomponent or a hardware component such as a field-programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), andperforms a specific function. However, the term “unit” is not limited tosoftware or hardware. The “unit” may be configured so as to be in anaddressable storage medium, or may be configured so as to operate one ormore processors. Thus, for example, the “unit” includes components, suchas software components, object-oriented software components, classcomponents, and task components, processes, functions, attributes,procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware,microcode, a circuit, data, a database, data structures, tables, arrays,and variables. The function provided in components and “units” may becombined into a smaller number of components and “units”, or may befurther divided into additional components and “units”.

The terms “have”, “may have”, “include” or “may include” used hereinspecify the presence of corresponding features (e.g., elements such asnumeric values, functions, operations, or components), but do notpreclude the presence of an additional feature.

In the present specification, expressions such as “A or B”, “at leastone of A and/or B”, or “one or more from among A and/or B” may includeall possible combinations of items listed together. For example, “A orB”, “at least one of A and/or B”, or “one or more from among A and/or B”may indicate (1) a case of including at least one A, (2) a case ofincluding at least one B, or (3) a case of including all of at least oneA and at least one B.

The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, used herein may modifyvarious elements without regard to order and/or importance, and theseelements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one element from another. For example, a first userdevice and a second user device may indicate different user deviceswithout regard to order or importance. For example, a first element maybe termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may betermed a first element, without departing from the scope of claims inthe present specification.

It will be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) isreferred to as being “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to”or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), the elementmay be directly connected to the other element, or may be connected tothe other element through another element (e.g., a third element). Onthe other hand, it will be understood that when an element (e.g., afirst element) is referred to as being “directly coupled” or “directlyconnected” to another element (e.g., a second element), there may be noother element (e.g., a third element) between the element and the otherelement.

The expression “configured (or set) to ˜” used in the presentspecification is interchangeable with, for example, “suitable for ˜”,“having the capacity to ˜”, “designed to ˜”, “adapted to ˜”, “made to˜”,or “capable of ˜”, depending on circumstances. The term “configured (orset) to˜” may not necessarily mean “specifically designed to ˜” in ahardware manner. Instead, under some circumstances, the expression “anapparatus configured to ˜” may indicate the apparatus “capable of ˜”together with another apparatus or other components. For example, thewording “a processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C” mayindicate a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor) forperforming corresponding operations, or a generic-purpose processor(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor)capable of performing corresponding operations by executing one or moresoftware programs stored in a memory device.

The term “terminal” used in the present specification indicates anapparatus that is connected to a central computer via a communicationsnetwork and inputs data or outputs a processing result, and for example,the terminal may be an electronic terminal having a touchscreen, such asa smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal computer, a game console, ora multimedia player.

The terminal according to various embodiments of the presentspecification may include at least one of, for example, a smartphone, atablet personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-bookreader, a laptop PC, a netbook computer, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), an MP3 player, a mobilemedical device, a camera, and a wearable device. According to variousembodiments, the wearable device may include at least one of anaccessory type device (e.g., a watch, a ring, a bracelet, an anklebracelet, a necklace, glasses, a contact lens, or a head mounted device(HMD)), a fabric or clothing integrated type device (e.g., electronicclothes), a body attached type device (e.g., a skin pad or a tattoo),and a bio-implant type device (e.g., an implantable circuit).

The terminal may be a mobile terminal, or a terminal, such as a desktop,that is not portable.

In the present specification, the mobile terminal indicates a relativelysmall computer device that a user may carry, and may include, forexample, a cellular phone, a panel computer, a PDA, or a notebookcomputer.

The terminology used in the present specification is used only todescribe certain embodiments and may not be intended to limit the scopeof other embodiments. An expression in the singular may include anexpression in the plural unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.All terms used herein including technical or scientific terms have thesame meaning as those generally understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art. The meaning of terms defined in a general dictionary from amongthe terms used in the present specification may be the same or similarto the meaning in context of related technology, and are not to beunderstood as having an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless theyare clearly defined in the present specification. In some cases, even ifthe terms are defined in the present specification, the terms are not tobe understood as excluding embodiments of the present specification.

Hereinafter, an information transmission apparatus and an operationmethod thereof according to various embodiments will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification,the term “user” may indicate a person who uses an apparatus or anapparatus (e.g., an artificial intelligence electronic apparatus) thatuses the apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for transmitting informationduring a call, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 1, an information transmission apparatus 100 may include adisplay 101 and a controller 103.

Such units may be executed by, for example, a general hardware processorsuch as a sensor for performing a certain function, a digital signalprocessor, or FPGAs, or a dedicated hardware processor such as dedicatedchips, or may be executed in the form of software, such as each moduleof an application installed in a terminal to perform informationtransmission, by a computer program.

The controller 103 may execute an application program storing all orpart of information that the information transmission apparatus 100intends to transmit during a call.

During a call, a user may need to transmit information to the otherparty. A case where information needs to be transmitted to the otherparty may include, for example, a case where a certain account numberhas to be transmitted to the other party during a call, a case whereanother person's phone number has to be transmitted, or a case where acertain password has to be entered.

For example, when an account number has to be transmitted, the accountnumber that the user has to transmit to the other party may be stored ina certain application program. For example, the account number may bestored in Notepad. In this case, the controller 103 may execute anapplication program including all or part of information intended to betransmitted, that is, Notepad.

In another embodiment, the application program may be a text messagetransmission program, various application programs related to chatting,Notepad, an address book, or other various types of applicationprograms.

The controller 103 may display a certain application interface includingall or part of information intended to be transmitted. In the aboveembodiment, the controller 103 may execute a Notepad program and thusopen and display a file having recorded thereon an account number to betransmitted.

In another embodiment, when the application program storing informationto be transmitted is a text message program, the controller 103 mayexecute a text message transmission program and thus display the contentof a certain text message including information to be transmitted to theother party on the terminal.

In a state where the application interface is displayed, the controller103 may execute a dial pad.

In the present disclosure, the dial pad may mean a program generallyused in an electronic phone, in which a user input is received through apad including keys respectively generating different pulse signals.Types of the dial pad will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9Aand 9B.

The dial pad may be executed in various manners, and a descriptionthereof will be given below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

In a state where the application interface is displayed, the controller103 may execute the dial pad. The controller 103 may display theexecuted dial pad and the application interface simultaneously.

The controller 103 may display the dial pad and the applicationinterface simultaneously by using various effects. For example, thecontroller 103 may display the executed dial pad and the applicationinterface so as to overlap or not to overlap each other on a screen.

In addition, the controller 103 may control transmission of informationto the other party through the dial pad, based on the content of theapplication interface. The user may input information to the dial padwhile directly referring to the content of the application interfacedisplayed simultaneously.

When a numeric string, a character string, or the like difficult toremember at a time is transmitted, the user may transmit information tothe other party through the dial pad while conveniently referring to thecontent of the application interface on one screen, instead ofremembering and inputting the content of the application interface tothe dial pad while switching between the application interface whereinformation is stored and the dial pad.

In some embodiments, the information transmitted to the other party maybe used as an input value of an application program installed at theother party. For example, the information transmitted to the other partymay be used as a certain input value of an automatic response system(ARS).

In some embodiments, the information transmitted to the other party maybe received by the other party through a predetermined applicationprogram. For example, the information transmitted to the other party maybe received in the form of a short message service (SMS) or a chattingmessage by the other party.

The display 101 may display the application interface, etc., and maydisplay the dial pad simultaneously under the control of the controller103 while displaying the application interface.

In an embodiment, the display 101 may be a display screen having a touchfunction. The display screen having a touch function may include adisplay liquid crystal (for example, liquid crystal display (LCD))having millions of pixels and a touch pad installed at the displayliquid crystal. The touchscreen is the prior art in the same technicalfield, and thus, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In a state where the dial pad is displayed, manipulation of a sectioncorresponding to the dial pad on the display 101 may be directlytransmitted to the controller 103, and thus, corresponding processingmay be performed by the controller 103. For example, when a key click onthe dial pad is completed, information or a signal corresponding to aclicked key may be generated and transmitted through a communicationmodule, etc.

In the present embodiment, the display 101 and the controller 103 aredescribed as separate configuration units. However, in some embodiments,the display 101 and the controller 103 may be combined and be realizedas the same configuration unit.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the display 101 and thecontroller 103 are described as adjacent configuration units in theinformation transmission apparatus 100. However, apparatuses servingrespective functions of the display 101 and the controller 103 do notnecessarily need to be physically adjacent to each other. Accordingly,in some embodiments, the display 101 and the controller 103 may bescattered.

In addition, since the information transmission apparatus 100 is notlimited to a physical apparatus, some functions of the informationtransmission apparatus 100 may be realized not as hardware but assoftware.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method of transmitting information during acall, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In operation 5201, the information transmission apparatus 100 mayexecute an application program storing all or part of information to betransmitted and display an application interface including all or partof the information.

According to an embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100may receive information for selecting a certain application program fromamong available application programs from a user and display anapplication interface of the selected application program on the display101. The information transmission apparatus 100 may receive selection ofthe application program storing all or part of information to betransmitted to the other party automatically by a predetermined settingor manually by the user's selection.

In addition, in operation 5203, the information transmission apparatus100 may execute a dial pad in a state where the application interface isdisplayed, and display the dial pad and the application interfacesimultaneously. Execution of the dial pad in the state where theapplication interface is displayed may be performed in various ways. Adetailed description thereof is given below.

In operation 5205, the information transmission apparatus 100 maytransmit information to the other party in the call through the dialpad, based on the content of the application interface.

While directly looking at the application interface, the user may inputall or part of the content displayed on the application interface to thedial pad. When a key click on the dial pad is completed, information ora signal corresponding to a clicked key may be generated and transmittedthrough a communication module, etc.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of transmitting information during acall, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100 may start acall process before performing the operation shown in operation 5201 ofFIG. 2.

In operation 5301, the information transmission apparatus 100 may startthe call process. The call process may mean a series of processes ofperforming a voice call or a video call with the other party.

The call process may be started by selecting or inputting a phone numberof the other party and then releasing the phone number of the otherparty through a call application program or by responding to an externalcall request. A user may become involved in the call by starting thecall process.

In operation 5303, the information transmission apparatus 100 mayexecute an application program storing all or part of information to betransmitted and display an application interface including all or partof the information.

After starting the call process, the information transmission apparatus100 may display a call interface. The information transmission apparatus100 may control the display 101 in various ways and terminate display ofthe call interface. For example, display of the call interface may beterminated by clicking a key such as a home key.

When display of the call interface is terminated, the informationtransmission apparatus 100 may display an initial screen. When theapplication program is executed on the initial screen, the informationtransmission apparatus 100 may display the application interface.

The information transmission apparatus 100 may also display theapplication interface by directly executing the application program in astate where the call interface is not terminated.

In another embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100 maydirectly execute the application program at the call interface by meansof another shortcut key manipulation method. For example, theapplication program may be invoked by directly invoking a predeterminedshortcut key menu of the application program.

The information transmission apparatus 100 may execute a selectedapplication program and display an application interface including allor part of information to be transmitted.

In addition, the information transmission apparatus 100 may execute adial pad in a state where the application interface is displayed, anddisplay the dial pad and the application interface simultaneously(operation S305).

The information transmission apparatus 100 may also transmit informationto the other party in the call through the dial pad, based on thecontent of the application interface (operation S307).

FIG. 4A shows a method of executing a dial pad during a call, accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

When information such as numbers and/or characters needs to betransmitted to the other party while a call is generated by a sender ina terminal, transmission of numbers and/or characters may be completedby selecting a key corresponding to information transmission on the dialpad.

There may be various methods of executing the dial pad to transmitinformation.

In an embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100 may executethe dial pad by receiving an input regarding a dial pad button 401present on a call interface. In the present disclosure, the callinterface may mean an execution screen of a call program for proceedingwith a call process.

FIG. 4B shows an example of a dial pad executed during a call, accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the dial pad executed by receiving an input regardingthe dial pad button 401 present on a call interface in FIG. 4A may be inthe form of an ordinary keyboard completely including numbers andsymbols such as “*” and “#” as shown in FIG. 4B.

The ordinary keyboard may be a dual tone multi frequency (DTMF) keyboardadopting a DTMF method.

According to the DTMF method, which is one of signaling methods inwhich, whenever a button is pressed, a unique frequency allocated toeach button is transmitted to a phone company, when a user presses adial button, tones of two different frequencies corresponding to eachbutton are transmitted to the phone company, and thus, which button hasbeen pressed by the user may be identified. In this regard, the tones oftwo different frequencies are used to prevent a malfunction due to noiseor artificial manipulation.

In some embodiments, the dial pad may be any other type of a keyboardcapable of executing the same function as or a similar function to thatof the ordinary keyboard.

FIG. 5 shows a method of executing a dial pad during a call, accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure.

The information transmission apparatus 100 may receive an inputregarding a home key, etc. at a call interface and display an initialscreen during the call. In an embodiment, the information transmissionapparatus 100 may display a dial pad button 501 on the initial screen asshown in FIG. 5. The dial pad button 501 may be in the form of afloating button.

In addition, in some embodiments, the dial pad button 501 may bedisplayed while overlapping other application icons of the initialscreen.

In some embodiments, the dial pad button 501 may be displayed in atransparent form. A transparency of the dial pad button 501 may beadjusted.

The information transmission apparatus 100 may execute the dial pad byreceiving an input regarding the dial pad button 501 of the initialscreen during the call.

In some embodiments, a dial pad icon may be used instead of the dial padbutton 501.

FIG. 6 shows a method of executing a dial pad during a call, accordingto another embodiment of the present disclosure.

The information transmission apparatus 100 may receive an inputregarding a home key, etc. at a call interface and display an initialscreen during the call. Next, according to instructions received from auser on the initial screen, the information transmission apparatus 100may perform various operations even during the call.

For example, the information transmission apparatus 100 may execute thedial pad by receiving an input regarding a dial pad button 601 on anotification bar during the call.

In some embodiments, a dial pad icon may be used instead of the dial padbutton 601.

FIG. 7 shows a method of executing a dial pad in a state where anapplication program is executed during a call, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

The information transmission apparatus 100 may receive an inputregarding a home key, etc. at a call interface and display an initialscreen during the call. The information transmission apparatus 100 mayexecute the application program selected by a user on the initialscreen.

In an embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100 may executea text message program during the call. As shown in FIG. 7, theinformation transmission apparatus 100 may display a dial pad button 701in a state where the text message program is implemented. Theinformation transmission apparatus 100 may execute the dial pad byreceiving an input regarding the displayed dial pad button 701.

FIG. 8 shows a method of executing a dial pad in a state where anapplication interface is displayed during a call, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100 may receivean input regarding a home key, etc. at a call interface and display aninitial screen during the call. The information transmission apparatus100 may execute an application program selected by a user on the initialscreen.

In an embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100 may executea text message program during the call. The information transmissionapparatus 100 may display a certain text message interface includinginformation to be transmitted to the other party by implementing thetext message program. During such a process, the informationtransmission apparatus 100 may keep displaying a dial pad button 801 asshown in FIG. 8.

As in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the information transmission apparatus100 may display the dial pad button 801 in a state where a text messageinterface including an account number to be transmitted to the otherparty is displayed, and receive an input regarding the dial pad button801 from the user. The information transmission apparatus 100 havingreceived the input regarding the dial pad button 801 may execute thedial pad.

FIG. 9 shows an example of an executed dial pad according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

The dial pad may adopt various forms in addition to the form of anordinary dial pad shown in FIG. 4B.

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the dial pad may further includefour keys indicating A, B, C, and D in the ordinary dial pad shown inFIG. 4B.

However, a form of the dial pad is not limited to a form recorded in thepresent disclosure. The form of the dial pad may be the form of anordinary keyboard and the form of any keyboard capable of executing thesame function as or a similar function to that of the ordinary keyboard.

FIGS. 10 to 12 each show an example in which an application interfaceand a dial pad are simultaneously displayed during a call, according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

When information such as corresponding numbers and/or characters at acall interface needs to be transmitted to the other party while a callis generated by a sender in a terminal, transmission of numbers and/orcharacters from among information to be transmitted may be performed byselecting a key corresponding to information transmission on the dialpad.

When the information to be transmitted is stored in another applicationprogram such as an application program, the sender may check informationtransmission stored in the application program and may directly transmitthe checked information transmission through the sender's manipulationof the dial pad.

The dial pad and the application interface may be displayedsimultaneously in various ways, and a user's convenience may beincreased or reduced according to a display method.

As in the embodiment of FIG. 10, a text message application interfaceand display of a dial pad 1010 may be displayed so as to overlap eachother. The text message application interface and the dial pad 1010 maypartially or entirely overlap each other, and thus, a larger displayarea may be allocated to the application interface or the dial pad 1010.In this case, the information transmission apparatus 100 may alsodisplay a dial pad button 1030 while simultaneously displaying the textmessage application interface and the display of the dial pad 1010 so asto overlap each other. The dial pad button 1030 may also be displayed soas to overlap the text message application interface and the display ofthe dial pad 1010.

In an embodiment, the information transmission apparatus 100 may receiveagain a user input regarding the dial pad button 1030 in a state wherethe dial pad 1010 is displayed, and terminate the dial pad 1010. Whenthe dial pad 1010 is terminated, the information transmission apparatus100 may display the text message application interface and the dial padbutton 1030.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11, a text message application interface anddisplay of a dial pad 1110 may each occupy a portion of a display screenand may be displayed in their own respective regions so as not tooverlap each other. Regarding such a display format, the text messageapplication interface and the display of the dial pad 1110 may eachoccupy 50% of the display screen or may occupy together 100% of thedisplay screen at various proportions.

In some embodiments, the text message application interface and thedisplay of the dial pad 1110 may be displayed smaller than 100% of thedisplay screen.

In the embodiment of FIG. 12, which is an extendable embodiment of amethod of displaying a dial pad or a dial pad button using an overlapmethod, the information transmission apparatus 100 may display adisplayed dial pad, dial pad button, or application interface using atransparent or semi-transparent effect. By displaying a dial pad, a dialpad button, or an application interface using a transparent orsemi-transparent effect, the information transmission apparatus 100 mayreduce influence of the dial pad and the dial pad button on displayingan application program caused by overlappingly displaying the dial padand the dial pad button.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 10 to 12, a dial pad button may be replacedwith a dial pad icon, and the information transmission apparatus 100 mayfold or unfold display of a dial pad interface by clicking the dial padicon on a touchscreen.

An icon representing a dial pad may be displayed in a manipulatable areaof the display 101 using a visual effect of hovering or an effect ofoverlapping an application program, and may be dragged into theremaining manipulatable area.

In addition, there may be various methods of displaying an applicationinterface, a dial pad, and a dial pad button, and such methods are notlimited to the content recorded in the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a method of executing a dial pad during acall, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

A user may think of having to make a phone call while executing anapplication program. In this case, the information transmissionapparatus 100 may start a call process (operation S1330) in a statewhere an application program storing all or part of information to betransmitted is executed and thus an application interface including allor part of the information is displayed (operation S1310).

In the present disclosure, the call process may mean a series ofprocesses of performing a voice call or a video call with the otherparty.

After starting the call process, the information transmission apparatus100 may return to the application interface of the application programalready executed.

In operation S1350, the information transmission apparatus 100 mayexecute a dial pad in a state where the application interface isdisplayed, and display the dial pad and the application interfacesimultaneously.

In addition, in operation S1370, the information transmission apparatus100 may transmit information input through the dial pad based on thecontent of the application interface to the other party in the call.

FIG. 14 shows an example in which a plurality of application interfacesand a dial pad are simultaneously displayed, according to an embodimentof the present disclosure.

According to an embodiment, when information that a user intends totransmit to the other party is stored over a plurality of applicationprograms, a plurality of application interfaces for the plurality ofapplication programs may be simultaneously displayed so that the usermay read pieces of necessary information simultaneously.

The information transmission apparatus 100 may execute a dial pad in astate where the plurality of application interfaces are displayed byexecuting the plurality of applications.

In an embodiment, when the information transmission apparatus 100 is anotebook computer, and the information that the user intends to transmitto the other party is an account number and a password, the accountnumber may be stored in a text message program 1410, and the password ofan account may be stored in Notepad 1430. The information transmissionapparatus 100 may execute a dial pad 1450 in a state where a textmessage interface including the account number and a Notepad interfaceincluding the password are simultaneously displayed.

The user may input the information to be transmitted to the other partythrough the dial pad 1450 by referring to the text message interface1410 storing the account number and the Notepad interface 1430 storingthe password at a look.

In some embodiments, the information that the user intends to transmitmay be stored over three or more application programs. In this case, theinformation transmission apparatus 100 may display necessary applicationinterfaces simultaneously by using various display methods.

Meanwhile, the present invention may be stored and embodied ascomputer-readable codes on a computer-readable storage medium. Thecomputer-readable storage medium is any data storage device that storesdata which may thereafter be read by a computer system.

The computer-readable codes are configured to perform operations ofimplementing an information transmission method according to the presentinvention when the computer-readable codes are read from thecomputer-readable storage medium by a processor and are executed. Thecomputer-readable codes may be executed with various programminglanguages. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segmentsfor implementing embodiments of the present invention may be easilyprogrammed by those of ordinary skill in the art.

Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include read-onlymemory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), magnetic tapes, floppy disks, optical data storage devices,and carrier waves (for example, transmission through the Internet). Thecomputer-readable storage medium may be distributed among computersystems that are interconnected through a network, and thus, thecomputer-readable codes may be stored and executed in a distributedfashion.

The above descriptions of the present disclosure are given forillustrative purposes, and it will be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure as defined by the following claims. Hence, it should beunderstood that the embodiments described above should be considered ina descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Forexample, each component described in a single type may be executed in adistributed manner, and components described distributed may also beexecuted in an integrated form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claimsrather than by the detailed description of the invention, and it shouldbe understood that the claims and all modifications or modified formsdrawn from the concept of the claims are included in the scope of thepresent invention.

1. An information transmission method of transmitting informationthrough a dial pad during a call, the information transmission methodcomprising: executing an application program storing all or part of theinformation and displaying an application interface comprising the allor part of the information; executing the dial pad in a state where theapplication interface is displayed, and simultaneously displaying thedial pad and the application interface; and transmitting the informationto another party through the dial pad, based on content of theapplication interface.
 2. The information transmission method of claim1, wherein the dial pad is executed by receiving an input via a floatingbutton indicating the dial pad.
 3. The information transmission methodof claim 2, wherein at least one of the floating button indicating thedial pad and the dial pad is transparently displayed.
 4. The informationtransmission method of claim 1, wherein the dial pad is executed byreceiving an input via a dial pad button added to a notification bar. 5.The information transmission method of claim 1, further comprisingexecuting a call process.
 6. The information transmission method ofclaim 1, wherein the executing of the dial pad and the simultaneouslydisplaying of the dial pad and the application interface comprisesdisplaying the dial pad and the application interface to at leastpartially overlap each other.
 7. The information transmission method ofclaim 1, wherein, when the application program storing the all or partof the information comprises a plurality of application programs, aplurality of application interfaces comprising the all or part of theinformation are simultaneously displayed by executing the plurality ofapplication programs.
 8. An information transmission apparatus fortransmitting information through a dial pad during a call, theinformation transmission apparatus comprising: a display; and acontroller configured to: execute an application program storing all orpart of the information and display an application interface comprisingthe all or part of the information; execute the dial pad in a statewhere the application interface is displayed, and simultaneously displaythe dial pad and the application interface; and transmit the informationto another party through the dial pad, based on content of theapplication interface.
 9. The information transmission apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the dial pad is executed by receiving an input via afloating button indicating the dial pad.
 10. The informationtransmission apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one of the floatingbutton indicating the dial pad and the dial pad is transparentlydisplayed.
 11. The information transmission apparatus of claim 8,wherein the dial pad is executed by receiving an input via a dial padbutton added to a notification bar.
 12. The information transmissionapparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured toexecute a call process.
 13. The information transmission apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to control displayof the dial pad and the application interface to at least partiallyoverlap each other.
 14. The information transmission apparatus of claim8, wherein, when the application program storing the all or part of theinformation comprises a plurality of application programs, a pluralityof application interfaces comprising the all or part of the informationare simultaneously displayed by executing the plurality of applicationprograms.
 15. A computer-readable recording medium having recordedthereon a program for performing the method of claim 1 on a computer.